Louis koch



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LOUIS KOCHQOF NEIV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO LOUIS KOCH AND H. FORSTRICK, OF SAME PLACE.

RAILROAD-STATION INDICATOR.

Specicatonof Letters Patent No. 25,081, dated August 9, 1859.

To all whom fit may concern:

Be it known that I, LoUIs KOCH, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Street and Station Indicator for Railroad-Cars; and I do hereby 'declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the sam-e, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of a rail-road car with my invention applied to it. fr, 02, Fig. 2, indicates the plane of section. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of ditto, y, y, Fig. l, indicating the plane of section.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the 4two figures.V

This invention consists in placing within the car at any suitable or convenient spot an apron or band which is attached to rollers or`a rotating dial plate may be used either device being operated with a continuous movement from one of the axles of the car by any suitable gearing. The apron or band or plate having the names of the streets or stations painted or marked upon it at the proper points and an index projecting over one edge of the apron or plate so that the index will point out on the apron or plate the precise situation of the car both when at motion and at rest, that is to say, the station or street is not only indicated when the car is stopped but the intermediate points are pointed out on the apron or plate by the index as the car passes along, so that the passengers can know at any time how far distant they have proceeded on their journey the precise spot being indicated at all times.

T o enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention I will proceed to describe it.

A, represents the body of a city rail-road car, B, B, its axles and C, its wheels. The car being of usual construction does not require a minute description. On one of the axles B, of the car there is a screw D, and into this screw a worm-wheel E, gears. The worm wheel E, is at the lower end of a vertical shaft F, which passes up within the body A, of the car and hasa screw G, at its upper part, said screw gearing into two worm wheels H, H, at the ends of rollers I, I, the journals of which are fitted in suitable bearings J, attached to the car.

The rollers I, I, are placed a suitable distance apart so as to expose to view a requisite surface of an apron or band K, lthe ends of which are secured to said rollers and wound upon them so that the exposed portion between the rollers will be strained sufficiently to have a smooth or unwrinkledsurface. To the car an index L, is attached said index projecting over the edge of the apron at a point about in line with its center.

It will be seen from the above description that as the car moves along the apron or band K, will be unwound from one roller and wound on the other the movement of the apron or band being continuous and the apron or band suiiciently long that it may be kept in mot-ion during the whole length of the journey of the car or its traveling distance. A

On the apron or band K, are painted or otherwise marked the names of the streets or stations on the line of the route. These names in order to insure correctness may be marked on the apron after it is applied to the car and while the car proceeds on its journey the name of each street or station being marked on the apron or band as the car arrives opposite it. It will be seen that it is perfectly immaterial as regards the speed of the car whether fastor slow or any retrograde movement of the same the apron or band when properly marked will always indicate the exact position of the car on the route. The same may be said when the car is returning and moves in a reverse direction the apron in the latter case being unwound from the roller on which it was previously wound and wound on the one from which it was unwound in short, moving in a reverse direction corresponding with that of the car.

When the invention is used in large cars to which steam power is applied, that is to say, cars which are provided with trucks that turn on a. king bolt or pin, a modification of the above described operating mechanism is necessary. In the latter case the axis of the worm wheel E, may pass through the king bolt or pin and a horizontal shaft connect by suitable gearing the worm wheel with the shaft F which would be at the A side or end of the car in order to have the cating motion to the apron from the axleA may be varied as circumstances may require, a suitable way suggesting itself to an intelligent mechanic.

It will be seen that a vertical rotating plate will answer the same purpose as an endless apron the plate being provided with an index the same as that of the apron and the names of the streets and station painted or marked radially on the plate. The rotat-ing plate however would be an equivalent to the apron, or the plate may be stationary and a revolving index used,

I am aware that aprons with the names of stations thereon have been employed as indicators in rail-road cars but so far as I am aware said aprons have not had a continuous motion given them from the running gear of the car but were operated intermittingly and as the car approaches each station. This arrangement diers widely from mine for in the former the passengers were not made cognizant of the whereabouts of the car at intermediate point-s which is the case in my invention.

I do not claim therefore broadly the employment or use of an apron placed on rollers and marked with the names of sta# tions or streets for the purpose of indicating to the passengers the arrival of the car thereat, but

I do claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

The apron or band K, with the names of the streets or stations on the line of the route marked thereon attached to and working on rollers I, I, or a revolvinv plate or stationary plate and revolving in ex, when said apron, plate, or index are operated from the running gear of the car by suitable mechanism to give the same a continuous movement and simultaneous with that of the car for the purpose herein set forth.

LOUIS KOCH.

Witnesses:

R. S. SPENCER, WM. TUsoH. 

